Cocktails with a Curator: Veronese's 'Choice Between Virtue and Vice'

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” decipher the significance of the many fascinating elements that compose the other large allegorical painting by Paolo Veronese at the Frick, “Choice Between Virtue and Vice,” with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon. The program is paired with a Negroni Sbagliato, a twist on the cocktail from last week’s episode.

The Choice Between Virtue and Vice

Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528–1588)

Date:ca. 1565

Medium:Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

86 1/4 x 66 3/4 in. (219.1 x 169.5 cm)

Credit Line:Henry Clay Frick Bequest

Cocktails with a Curator: Veronese's 'Wisdom and Strength'

I really enjoyed this episode of the Frick Collection's weekly series Cocktails With a Curator. The history of Veronese's "Wisdom and Strength" is fascinating. This episode brought back memories of Peter Watson's book on the history of the painting's collectors over the years. "The 16th-century painting "Wisdom and Strength," an allegory by the Venetian Paolo Veronese, passed through the hands of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, Queen Christina of Sweden, the Duke of Orleans, and Thomas Hope, and survived war looting, art market fluctuations, and numerous journeys across Europe before reaching its current home at the Frick Collection in New York. British journalist Watson traces the colorful lives and times of the painting's owners, interjecting non- technical discussions of patronage, the history of pigment, and similar art historical topics." - Annette Melville 

 Book Available at: Wisdom and Strength by Peter Watson

Wisdom and Strength

Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528–1588)

Date:ca. 1565

Medium:Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

84 1/2 x 65 3/4 in. (214.6 x 167 cm)

Credit Line:Henry Clay Frick Bequest

From the Frick: In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” enjoy a traditional Negroni with Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon (pictured above) as he discusses “Wisdom and Strength,” one of two large allegorical paintings by Paolo Veronese that hang in the West Gallery at the Frick. Discover the hidden message behind the two principal figures in this picture: a bearded brute clad in a lion skin and a woman of noble bearing with a miniature sun above her forehead. Tune in next week for a discussion of the painting’s companion work, “Choice Between Virtue and Vice.” To see this painting in detail, please visit our website: https://collections.frick.org/objects...

Harriet Tubman was a Nurse

Harriet Tubman's lifelong commitment to human rights exemplifies what it means to be a nurse. ❤️

Because #nurses vow to advocate for our patients, we know that it is literally our JOB to fight for a world that values their health and safety. pic.twitter.com/0uW9vrS5cw

— Bonnie Castillo (@NNUBonnie) August 2, 2020

Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer – ALREADY (Official Video)

From Rolling Stone: "Beyoncé has dropped the vibrant video for her song “Already” featuring Major Lazer and Shatta Wale, which is also a part of her Black Is King visual album. Black Is King is based on tracks from The Lion King: the Gift, the soundtrack from the 2019 film remake of The Lion King."

Heraclitus Weeps!

Philosopher Heraclitus, weeping at the state of the world. Know just how he feels! Painted in 1609 (though totally relevant today) by Abraham Janssens, whose day is today. pic.twitter.com/J3u6yBblZH

— Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) July 26, 2020

Americas Greatest Mistake

Watch, then please retweet, this great ad: https://t.co/LjnJfXEc3O

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 26, 2020

Auntie-fa in Portland

Love all these mom protestors in Portland. Lullaby singing “Hands up don’t shoot me” was not on my 2020 bingo card. pic.twitter.com/vBMV6PrRFw

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) July 21, 2020

Cocktails with a Curator: Vermeer's 'Officer and Laughing Girl'

Officer and Laughing Girl

Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675)

Date:ca. 1657

Medium:Oil on canvas (lined)

Dimensions:

19 7/8 x 18 1/8 in. (50.5 x 46 cm)

Credit Line:Henry Clay Frick Bequest

From the Frick Collection: 

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” get up close to one of the Frick’s three beloved Vermeer paintings, “Officer and Laughing Girl,” with Curator Aimee Ng (pictured above). While enjoying your Kopstootje—a shot of jenever (a traditional Dutch liquor) paired with a pint of beer—join Aimee in examining the artist’s masterful skill at portraying light and exploring the complex histories behind a seemingly simple hat.

Further thoughts on this painting in Vermeer's Hat: 

The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World

Keep Our Eyes On the Prize

We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize. pic.twitter.com/eOw9uMYAAL

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 2, 2020

Do not get lost in a sea of despair.

Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. #goodtrouble

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) June 27, 2018

The Power of John Lewis

The words of John Lewis from the 1963 March on Washington still ring true today, decades later. We must stand up against injustice to propel our country forward. #JohnLewisGoodTrouble pic.twitter.com/S4sQwFKFIf

— John Lewis: Good Trouble (@JohnLewisDoc) July 12, 2020

Rest In Power John Lewis!

Goodbye, John Lewis. Thank you for the #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/LDzDV1dKXW

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) July 18, 2020

The War On Drugs - Unsatisfied Heart (Bruce Springsteen Cover)

H.E.R. - I Can't Breathe (Official Video)

Canyons · Noveller

Must Watch Video From Author Don Winslow: "Democrats Stand Tall"

I'm sick of Donald Trump's brand of fake patriotism.

Our new video:#DemocratsStandTall pic.twitter.com/3aqLhpBe9F

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 12, 2020

Shakespeare's Sonnet 80 arrives on the eve of Patrick Stewart's 80th birthday

Sonnet 80 arrives on the eve of my 80th birthday. #ASonnetADay pic.twitter.com/iqkUcAXSEM

— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) July 13, 2020

Chavis Flagg!!!

Let’s Goooo ! Rock + Roll https://t.co/nc0JEaKldX

— Chavis Flagg (@chavisflagg) July 11, 2020

I love and appreciate all of you all https://t.co/N1NFNAk9Hs

— Chavis Flagg (@chavisflagg) July 11, 2020

Happy Birthday Henry David Thoreau

Find your Walden Pond. @whatorthat @CPTStephtacular #HappyBirthdayHenryDavidThoreau https://t.co/5qvmvpxjDO

— Gregg Chadwick (@greggchadwick) July 12, 2020

Nurses Save Lives!

Nurses Save Lives! https://t.co/0y4q3gDfbH

— Gregg Chadwick (@greggchadwick) July 12, 2020

The Airborne Toxic Event - Come On Out (RAC Mix Official Audio)

Cocktails with a Curator: Holbein's 'Sir Thomas More'

From the Frick Collection:

In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, examines one of the Frick’s most beloved paintings, Hans Holbein’s “Sir Thomas More.” Xavier considers More's relationship to humanist circles and the role of "friendship portraits" in making the absent present. In the words of More's devoted friend, Desiderius Erasmus, “life without a friend is no life." As a nod to the turbulent times of Tudor England, Xavier pairs this episode with a Bloody Mary cocktail.

Sir Thomas More

Hans Holbein (German, 1497/1498–1543)

Date:1527

Medium:Oil on oak panel

Dimensions:

29 1/2 x 23 3/4 in. (74.9 x 60.3 cm)

Credit Line:Henry Clay Frick Bequest

To see this painting in detail, please visit: https://collections.frick.org/objects...

Michael McDermott - Contender (Official Video)

Asbury Park: Riot Redemption Rock N Roll - Feature Film

Asbury Park: Riot Redemption Rock N Roll - Feature Film

L.A. Protest, Past and Present: : From the Watts Rebellion to the #Black...

Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed

Los Angeles 2020

>KTLA illegal firework footage is trending
>multiple comments about how "congratulations, we've literally become Blade Runner"

Me, a video editor with the soundtrack: pic.twitter.com/X1nchJGadb

— Mach Dent (@Mach_Dent) July 5, 2020

This 4th of July...

“American history is no fairy tale. It’s been a constant push and pull between two parts of the American character: the idea that all men – all people – are created equal and the racism that has torn us apart.” @JoeBiden #July4th
pic.twitter.com/Y643C1zZ7K
https://t.co/Y643C1zZ7K

— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) July 4, 2020

‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’: Descendants of Frederick Douglass Read his Famous Speech

The U.S. celebrates this Independence Day amid nationwide protests and calls for systemic reforms. In this short film, five young descendants of Frederick Douglass read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" which asks all of us to consider America's long history of denying equal rights to Black Americans.

FEATURING (alphabetically)
Douglass Washington Morris II, 20 (he/him)
Isidore Dharma Douglass Skinner, 15 (they/their)
Zoë Douglass Skinner, 12 (she/her)
Alexa Anne Watson, 19 (she/her)
Haley Rose Watson, 17 (she/her)

You can read the full text of “What To The Slave Is The Fourth of July?” here:
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/l...

This video was inspired by Jennifer Crandall's documentary project "Whitman, Alabama". Visit http://whitmanalabama.com/.

David Byrne's American Utopia - Burning Down the House

Fierce!

Just purchased this painting of Anna May Wong, and I love how fierce she looks. Thank you @greggchadwick for your lovely note. My first art purchase for my new LA home — based on an LA woman by an LA artist who heard me interviewing his LA friend from my LA guest bedroom. pic.twitter.com/UKaJpzLMQ0

— Ailsa Chang (@ailsachang) July 2, 2020

Oh @greggchadwick I absolutely love it. Anna is going in my main hallway, where I can pass by her unflinching gaze everyday and channel her ferocity.

— Ailsa Chang (@ailsachang) July 2, 2020

Stand Up (Official Lyrics) – Tom Morello x Shea Diamond x Dan Reynolds x...

Play this one loud! Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello fights the power in a blistering  track that condemns police brutality, racism and transphobia.

“Stand Up” is a collaboration with producer the Bloody Beetroots, singer and transgender rights activist Shea Diamond, and Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds. Proceeds from the song will go to the NAACP, the Know Your Rights Camp, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

“When I call the police, will they just kill me? / Will they just kill you?” Reynolds screams on the track. “When I call the police, will they just protect me ‘cause I’m white-skinned too?”

Midnight Oil - Forgotten Years

David Sancious Opens Our Eyes to Good Trouble

by Gregg Chadwick

“A time comes when silence is betrayal”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
  April 4, 1967

"So you have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate, to speak up, speak out, and get in good trouble. You can do it. You must do it. Not just for yourselves but for generations yet unborn."
- John Lewis 
  Lawrence University, June 2015 

David Sancious’ new album Eyes Wide Open evokes Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Gil Scott Heron's Winter in America, Herbie Hancock's The Prisoner, Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne, and Terence Blanchard's music for Spike Lee's films. Sancious describes the album as “a movie for your ears.” Sancious' vocals, keyboards, and guitar are combined with spoken word passages, chants from protest marches, and news clips that form a cinematic soundscape which ventures into the urgent concerns of our time. Racial injustice, police violence against black folks, and the environmental destruction of our burning planet all come into view as we traverse Sancious' musical journey. Four powerful lyrical explorations open the album. 

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On begins with the sounds of a party for a Vietnam veteran who has returned home. Underneath the celebration though is existential dread. In a similar fashion David Sancious' Eyes Wide Open opens with the muffled voices of a crowd marching.  We hear the voices of protesters calling for change. Then Sancious sings "Hey it's not OK!" 

Sancious critiques the Trumpian disdain for reason and science while at the same time grooving with the message of the streets. "Keep your eyes wide open, so you can really see", Sancious sings before warning us that "Shoot you in the back is the name of the town, somewhere in America." 

Adriano Molinari's drumming propels us forward. Is there hope somewhere in America? Sancious' soundscape compels us to feel and see what's going on. 

Gregg Chadwick
1619
22"x30" gouache on paper 2020

The album's second song, In the Middle of the Night describes the mental cost of systemic racism and a presidency gone crazy. A gentle Sakamoto-like piano opens the song. 
Sancious speaks hushed lines of woe: 

"Five o'clock in the morning man ... Can't sleep, Can't believe I'm in this situation

These mathematics ... can't make it work

Brother needs a job!"

Then with a hint of David Bowie's Black Star voice Sancious sings:

"Oh ... Woe is We 

 Such a strange society 

I bow my head and bend my knee 

In the middle of the night, I don't sleep so well"

The recent Medium post by Emily Joyner and Caroline Joyner comes to mind. 
They write:

"Like so many Black people in this country, we struggled to sleep, eat, or function in any way.

White people, consider this moment your call to action. This is your violence, your history, and your responsibility. Racism is not a “cause” to consider donating to or learning about — it is the original sin of this nation, and your safety is predicated on its strength....Your white inaction is violence...The scars of these environments are deep and long-lasting for Black people. It is not our responsibility to educate you. You must realize your complicit behavior and do something about it, right now. Your indifference to a system you actively participate in is appalling. Your silence not only disgusts us — it endangers our lives."

Eyes Wide Open's third song Urban Psalm #3 opens with news bytes and a clip of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech1: 

"The basic thing about a man is not his specificity, but his fundamentals, not the texture of his hair or the color of his skin, but his eternal dignity and worth."

"May I walk the streets alone, free from suspicion?" Sancious sings. 
"When you look at me is it me that you see? Not something that you saw last night on TV. Because that's not me." 

 Personal injury lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey threaten to commit personal injury against peaceful, unarmed Black Lives Matter protesters walking on the street in St. Louis, Missouri on June 28, 2020

Listening to the song brought to mind the absurdly frightened, wealthy couple in St Louis, Missouri brandishing weapons at a group of peaceful protesters marching by their home on the way to a protest in front of the mayor's house. The protesters chant:
“We are here, we’ve been here, we ain’t leaving. We are love.” 

The fourth song If confronts disasters due to climate change, environmental unrest, and racial strife. 
Sancious asks us:

"Can you see this world? So bright and shiny." 

The piano, drums, sax lines, and guitar are bright and open - imploring us to see the beauty in our world. And to do something to preserve our endangered earth.

 “If the tears won’t leave your eyes 

If the sun fell from the sky 

If you could choose the color of your skin.”

Four instrumental pieces create the second half of Sancious' auditory film.

Flip It combines Sancious propulsive Gary Clark Jr.- like guitar lines with keyboard arranged horn parts which echo Herbie Hancock's civil rights movement inspired album The Prisoner. Hancock used instrumental jazz to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Sancious also acknowledges the vision of MLK in his jazz inflected Eyes Wide Open. 

The Treehouse, the second instrumental track on Eyes Wide Open, brings to mind Bruce Hornsby's The Way It Is and 2Pac's riff on that song in his masterpiece Changes. 

December mixes Spanish guitar with Terence Blanchard-like keyboards. We are in a Spanish movie that director Almodovar would relish.  The soundscape is broad and healing. We are globally connected in a pandemic and a shared future. 

The album's final song War in Heaven harkens back to Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock with its swirl of sax parts and hushed vocals. A love supreme indeed! 
As Terence Blanchard wrote recently on NPR:

"We need a song with a melody that allows us all to say our piece, and lyrics that urge us to be our best selves. We need a future where we can rely on our own beliefs and not depend on those who have none. It's a precious moment in time when many hearts, ears, and minds are now open to listening, so let's take advantage of it and make our mark on the world. Let's all listen to each other, and write a song to sing together that will give us some peace. We are well overdue." 

David Sancious gives us the music to see with eyes wide open which implores us not to remain silent about the systemic racism in America, but instead to embrace John Lewis' "good trouble" as we create a more equitable society.  

Sancious describes Eyes Wide Open as, “The best work I've ever done.” I have to agree. 
Buy David Sancious' Eyes Wide Open here. 

Track Listing
Eyes Wide Open; In The Middle Of The Night; Urban Psalm #3; If; Flip It; The Tree House; December; War In Heaven.

Personnel
David Sancious: piano; Will Calhoun: drums; Michael Bland: drums; Vinnie Colaiuta: drums; Joe Bonadio: drums.

David Sancious: synth, guitar, vocals, organ.

*All Images from David Sancious Eyes Wide Open Lyric Video by John McCracken unless otherwise noted.

1. "Some Things We Must Do," Address Delivered at the Second Annual Institute on Nonviolence and Social Change at Holt Street Baptist Church
Author:
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
Date:
December 5, 1957
Location:
Montgomery, Ala.
Genre:
Speech

More on David Sancious:

David joined Bruce Springsteen’s band at 17 as one of the founding members of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band whose name came from the street that David’s mom lived on in Belmar, New Jersey. It can be said that without David Sancious, there would be no E Street Band.


In 1974, David left the E Street Band and formed his own jazz-fusion ensemble Tone with drummer Boom Carter.


“I felt at the time I wanted to give my songwriting the same kind of focus and attention that Bruce was giving his”, said David. 

David Sancious has created 7 gold albums and toured with Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Santana, and Seal among others. 





DAVID SANCIOUS: EYES WIDE OPEN LYRIC VIDEO from John McCracken on Vimeo.

Herbie Hancock The Prisoner

So timeless, yet so timely. An ode to Martin Luther King Jr. and the continual struggle. Say it with me - Black Lives Matter!

Eyes Wide Open

Putin paid a bounty to kill American soldiers. @realDonaldTrump knew about it but did nothing.

Putin paid a bounty to kill American soldiers. @realDonaldTrump knew about it but did nothing. How can Trump lead America when he can't even defend it? pic.twitter.com/oEbnc2cWbT

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) June 28, 2020

Cocktails with a Curator: Stubbs's 'Portrait of Warren Hastings'

Mentioned in the episode is William Dalrymple's The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire


ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY The Wall Street Journal and NPR


Link at:

Panel Discussion: 'Who's Not in the Picture?'

June 26, 2015 - Equality Shines on the White House

As the sun went down on this historic day five years ago, the White House lit up in brilliant colors—an act that would have stood regardless of the Supreme Court ruling earlier that day.

But as crowds gathered, it became a moment of celebration. Love had won. pic.twitter.com/f7pNxMPkMG

— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) June 26, 2020

On June 26, 2015 Marriage Equality became the law of the land and with hundreds of others we celebrated on the Supreme Court steps. Later on that glorious day, I chatted with President Obama's photographer Pete Souza in front of the White House which was lit up in rainbow colors in celebration of the LGBTQ community.
While we watched, the Presidential Marine Corps air unit returned with President Obama from his moving speech at the memorial service for the church folks who were gunned down by a young white supremacist in South Carolina. President Obama sang "Amazing Grace" that day.
In her current Netflix film Becoming, Michelle Obama reflects upon that day as well. Michelle Obama describes how she and her daughter Malia sneaked outside that night, needing to share in the crowd's joy after all the terrible grief in Charleston. They let the jubilation soften their anguish. Arrivals and departures. The struggle for equality for all continues.

#art #artandsocialjustice #equality #marriageequality #humanrights #charlestonsc @petesouza #theotherartfairla #theotherartfair

The Chicks - March March